1. Best Practice White Paper ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it?ITIL has become the most widely adopted Best Practice frameworkfor ITSM. The recent ITIL V3 refresh has sparked renewed interest but,although many are aware of the new version, the majority areunsure as to how, or even if, it will affect them. V3 has prompted ITorganizations to look at existing processes, ITIL maturity and futurestrategic plans, including ISO/IEC 20000 accreditation. This WhitePaper uses the IT Maturity Model to compare each ITIL version andidentify which approach is best suited to individual IT organizations.Findings of this report indicate that V3 is not suited to everyorganization, but provides elements that can be used to driveimprovements and can act as a benchmark. The level of IT maturitywithin an organization can be linked to its predominant focus,whether process or service-driven. Thus, V3 should be seen asevolving from V2, as opposed to replacing it. The basic V2 processesmust be in place to a sufficient IT maturity level before the V3Service Lifecycle Approach can be considered. The decision toembrace V3 is also dependent on the overall business strategy,which may not necessarily tie in with the V3 mindset. So, is V3 right for you?Page 1 of 14

2. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it?Executive Summary This White Paper aims to give you a few things to ponder, but will hopefully answer more questions than it creates.With the launch of the third incarnation of ITIL, commonly called V3, we now have an industry standard roadmap to take ITSM Best Practice to the next level. V3 shows a significant change in emphasis; from IT as a series of interlinked processes, to IT being considered as a value- adding service, whether to internal or external business customers.This White Paper argues that the V3 approach will not be right for many organizations, now or possibly ever. Its suitability is closely linked to the direction of the business and ITs role within this to achieve the organizations strategic goals. Its adoption is also crucially related to the current IT maturity of the organization, thus if a business has not matured its processes sufficiently and attempts to implement a V3 service approach, it will find it complex and problematic. Furthermore, it may conflict with the current organizational culture and working practices, resulting in much of the value of the Best Practice approach being lost. Indeed, it may become a value-destroying exercise rather than the intended, value-creating exercise.Importantly, ITSM practitioners should consider if this is an either/or situation, or a roadmap to move through a V2 process-focused approach with the ultimate goal of achieving a V3 service and value-based focus. If IT functions are clear on the end objective, mindful of the business strategy, organizational benefits will be realized faster and at lower cost, while minimizing the organizational challenge from the required cultural mind-shift.ITIL is not an end in itself but a means to an end. If the key business driver is cost and process efficiency, then it may be advisable to focus on improving internal IT process effectiveness and stay with the more traditional approach (V2). However, if service quality and agility are the primary drivers, businesses should perhaps be more focused on a V3 model.So, is V3 right for you? Page 2 of 14 3. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? Table of ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................2 TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................4 HISTORY OF ITIL ...........................................................................................................................4ITIL V1.........................................................................................................................................................................4ITIL V2.........................................................................................................................................................................4ITIL V3.........................................................................................................................................................................5BENEFITS OF ADOPTING ITIL ...........................................................................................................................................5V3 SERVICE LIFECYCLE APPROACH.................................................................................................................................5MATURITY ADOPTION OF ITIL .......................................................................................................8CHAOTIC: ....................................................................................................................................................................9REACTIVE: ....................................................................................................................................................................9PROACTIVE: .................................................................................................................................................................9SERVICE: ......................................................................................................................................................................9VALUE:.........................................................................................................................................................................9ITIL V2 VERSUS V3 ........................................................................................................................10PROCESS AND SERVICE APPROACHES ..........................................................................................................................10ITIL V2 OR V3 WHERE ARE YOU? ..............................................................................................................................10WHEN ITIL V3 IS WORTH IT............................................................................................................................................11CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................12FURTHER READING.......................................................................................................................................................13ABOUT THE AUTHOR ....................................................................................................................................................13 Copyright Notice Copyright Axios Systems 2007. The information, which is contained in this document, is the property of Axios Systems. The contents of the document must not be reproduced or disclosed wholly or in part or used for purposes other than that for which it is supplied without the prior written permission of Axios Systems. Page 3 of 14 4. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it?Introduction then in early 2001, Service Delivery waslaunched. These two main books covered:The purpose of this White Paper is not to impart knowledge of what is included inService Support: Service Delivery: the ITIL V3 lifecycle; this can be found inService Desk Service Level many other White Papers and websites.(Function) Management Instead, this White Paper is intended to Incident Availability trigger discussion as to whether yourManagement Management organization is ready for, or indeed should, ProblemCapacity Management make the leap from V2 to V3. ManagementIn order to understand the reasoning Change IT Service Continuity behind ITIL V3, it is important to understandManagement Management the history of ITIL. Release Management Financial Management for IT Services History of ITIL ConfigurationManagementInformation Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) emerged from an area within Above is not full set of V2 books; there are the UK Government, the Central Computernine other books in the library, specifically: and Telecoms Agency (CCTA) with the main objectives being to reduce costs andOther Books within ITIL V2 increase the quality of IT services andIntroduction to ITIL Planning to supporting resources in the public sector.ImplementSecurity ICT Infrastructure ITIL V1Management Management The first version of this guidance cameBusiness Business under the guise of GovernmentPerspectivePerspective Infrastructure Management MethodVolume 1 Volume 2 (GITMM) in 1988 with the initial focus on Service Level Management. Later that ApplicationSoftware Asset year, the guidelines were expanded toManagement Management include Help Desk, Contingency PlanningSmall Scale and Change Management and, in 1989,Implementations Problem, Configuration and Cost Management. Software Control and People tend to equate V2 with the two Distribution, Capacity and Availabilitycore books, Service Support and Service Management were subsequently Delivery, mainly because the V2 introduced in 1991 and 1992. Foundation course only covers these twomain areas. The other books within the The uptake of these Best Practicelibrary tend to be over-looked. guidelines took root in non-government organizations and hence the Government ISO/IEC 20000 was then introduced as the label was dropped and the whole set of first worldwide standard specifically 45+ books was renamed ITIL.focused on IT Service Management (ITSM).Predominately based on BS15000, (now ITIL V2ISO/IEC 20000) the standard developed by With the widespread adoption in the 1990sthe BSI (British Standards Institute), it was of these Best Practice guidelines, theyfounded on, and evolved from, the above were re-worked and modernized in 2000ITIL principles. Thus, it incorporated the into 11 books for Version 2 (V2). November basic ITIL processes and evolved them to 2000 saw Service Support published and the next stage. Page 4 of 14 5. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it?ITIL V3 A key failing with V2 was that, althoughNon-Proprietary Practice ITIL is owned by details as to how best to deliver and the Office of Government Commerce, a support the services to the business were department of the UK Government. ITIL given, little attention was paid to the areas does not require a license to practice and of designing services suitable for theis independent of any solution or platform. business and creating a strategy around It is therefore singularly focused on Best this. In addition, V2 did little in the way ofPractices without a hidden commercial assisting companies improve the quality inagenda. Service Delivery. While it gave tips on managing levels of service, it did not give Reduce Costs and ROI ITIL has proven its advice on Continual Service Improvement.value in reducing the overall cost of From this we can see missing pieces in themanaging services and can help IT full Service Delivery lifecycle; from the organizations demonstrate their ROI and strategy to the delivery and support, right measurable value to the business. This through to the retirement of that service.helps to establish a case for new or continuing investment in IT. A recent ISO/IEC 20000 started to investigate theseindustry study showed that areas, but in a very prescriptive manner. InBest-in-Class organizations, the majority 2004, the ITIL V3 Refresh Program was of whom have adopted ITIL, have realized conceived taking into consideration botha higher ROI than those in the Average ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000, and a new lifecycle an Laggard categories 2. approach was created. Three years ofImproved Quality ITIL helps improve the work concluded in May 2007 with the quality of IT services through sound launch of V3. management practices. In the same research, 70% of Best-in-Class businesses Benefits of Adopting ITIL had the ability to measure end-user Whether you are a business customer, asatisfaction and 60% service delivery service provider, a CIO or CEO, ITIL Servicestandards against SLA provisions 3. Management Practices offer benefits thatAligned to Standards ITIL is well aligned demonstrate their value and Return on to the ISO/IEC 20000 standard. A recent Investment (ROI). These are applicablesurvey conducted by Axios Systems showed regardless of which version is beinga considerable increase in companies that followed. The results of a recent survey by have achieved accreditation and are now Axios Systems show that over one-third of ITreaping the benefits. In fact 89% of professionals have already adopted therespondents said ITIL, with ISO/IEC 20000 ITIL framework, while another one-third accreditation, was a key enabling tool 4. plan to roll-out the framework within a Qualification ITIL supports the ITSM year. Respondents identified better professional with a line of accredited business service from IT, process alignment, training courses. Service Desk consolidation and a higher level of customer satisfaction as the key Seamless Sourcing Partnerships drivers for the uptake of ITIL 1. Some of the outsourcing, often with multiple service widely published benefits are:providers is increasingly common today. ITIL is widely practiced among service Scalability ITIL can be adapted for any providers and offers a common practice base for improved service chain size of organization. Since it is a framework, management. rather than a rigid set of rules, it can be tailored to suit the context of the individual business. 2 ITSM: IT Transforms itself into a Service, page 10 3 ITSM: IT Transforms itself into a Service, page 12 1 4 ISO drives rise in ITIL adoptionISO drives rise in ITIL adoption Page 5 of 14 6. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? V3 Service Lifecycle Approach Figure 1 shows the new V3 Lifecycle Approach to delivering services. The five stages are:Service Strategy Defines the policies and strategies toimplement Service Management in linewith the overall business strategy.Service Design Describes how to use the strategy tocreate designs and specifications for theservice.Service Transition Details how to get the specification intothe live environment.Service Operations Now in the live environment, this stagedefines how to best support the day-to-day running of the service throughout itslife.Continual Service Improvementfigure 1V3 Service LifecycleApproach Service performance is measured at eachstage ensuring that IT align andcontinually realign to the needs of thebusiness. As mentioned earlier, the key elements on the cost and efficiency of IT Service missing in previous versions of ITIL were theManagement. It tried to offer some of the strategy and design elements of Servicemissing aspects in later books but these Delivery. V2 detailed the delivery of thewere seen as disjointed and non-cohesive. process elements around the support andThe basic processes from V2 have, delivery aspects effectively but lacked thehowever, been carried through to V3. assistance in strategy, design and quality Figure 2 (page 7) illustrates how the V2 of service. The predominant focus was thus processes lie within the V3 approach.Page 6 of 14 7. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? figure 2Existing processes from ITIL V2 mapped to ITIL V3 V3 is not a re-write but rather a combining creating service value and improving the of all the key areas of V2 with the additionquality of service. In order to achieve this, of the concept of Service Lifecycle,figure 3 details the new areas which have supporting a service from inception tobeen introduced in V3 and where they sit retirement. There has thus been a shift inwithin the lifecycle stages: focus from process efficiency and cost, tofigure 3 New processes within ITIL V3 and where they sitPage 7 of 14 8. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? Maturity Adoption of ITIL Many Axios Systems customers have implemented the majority of the V2 Service IT organizations that have implemented ITIL Support processes plus Service Level processes do so to varying degrees of Management. They will not have to throw maturity. As previously discussed, V3 has away these processes and start afresh evolved from V2 and has introduced newusing the new V3 processes. In addition, if elements for a more service-orientatedan IT organization is, or is considering, for focus. These new elements are not relevantinstance, implementing an IT service to everyone however. As a consequence catalog, a knowledge management of the V3 launch, many organizations have facility, or utilizing Service Level Agreement therefore been posing the below question: (SLA) management tools effectively, the likelihood is that the basic processes are Are our processes mature enough toalready in place. Thus, the IT organizations consider implementing ITIL V3 or should wefocus will have evolved and the leap from focus on getting the V2 basic support V2 to V3 may, culturally at least, not be so processes in place first and then worry great. about strategies and designing services? Many find it hard enough to deliver the It may sound strange that the above support processes into their organizations question focuses on implementingdue to the barriers within, never mind processes into your organization first andconsidering the provision of value and only subsequently considers the strategyservice to the business. These are seen as and design. But this is the questionsomething which will come much later organizations will have to contemplate if after the building blocks have been they are part way through implementingembedded into the organization. In ITIL processes around V2. A lot of effort willaddition, for many organizations, there is have been put into designing theseno requirement for them to evolve to such processes and they should be kept! Thelevels; the basic support processes are processes implemented in V2 will stillsufficient for their needs. support an organizations deliverables if it moves across to V3. figure 4 IT Process Maturity Model55 Gartner Poll Suggests IT Management Processes arent Maturing, page 2 Page 8 of 14 9. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? contact point for IT-related issues and Figure 4 (page 8) shows the 5 different requests. Processes are in place and organizational IT maturity levels from Levelfollowed the majority of the time. However 0 (Chaotic) to Level 4 (Value). It is a goodunder duress, they can still be indicator as to what processes andcircumvented. Problem Management has functions are typically in place for each usually been implemented and trend level of IT maturity. analysis on the incidents carried out. Once the underlying cause is found, it is passed The diagram represents the ability of anto Change Management to analyze, assess organization to perform in a structured and the impact, authorize and schedule the fix. repeatable manner. The higher the Specific levels of service have been maturity, the more effective and efficientagreed with the customers but perhaps not an IT organization will become. always met. Research has shown this is the second most popular level 7, mainly Chaotic:populated by enterprise-sized Organizations often struggle to control the organizations. work being carried out. They have little documented and use different, or very Service: few, tools to assist. Usually run on an ad- The focus has moved to planning and hoc basis with little structure or planning,investing time in working with the business they are seen as very reactive. Customers to design services around its needs. tend to be unaware of whom to call forPlanning the future capacity for these support and usually try to rectify issues services, establishing what availability is themselves and fail. Hence levels ofrequired and ensuring sufficient budgets customer satisfaction are negligible. Few are in place are also considerations. Other businesses today can afford to operate this activities include the monitoring and way.measuring of the service level provided and acting upon areas of poor Reactive: performance. Some enterprises have There is usually a Service Desk in place with adopted certain aspects of this level, but technology being used as an enabler. Thevery few have achieved them all. beginnings of a CMDB will have been implemented, potentially with an auto-Value: discovery tool to help populate it. AlertingIT is now seen as a strategic part of the tools may also be in existence to createorganization with true business/IT incidents and measure downtime. Activitiesintegration. It has thus been tied into the are still reactive and customers may have business strategy and services are being to chase before they get an issue resolved. built around what the business requires. All This will sometimes result in them bypassingthe processes are now implemented and the Service Desk to a technician who will integrated with plans in place to build, test log a retrospective change record.and manage services throughout their Predominately Small to Medium-sized operational life until retirement. The focus businesses (SMBs) are in this category and, is not purely on managing the current according to Gartner research 6, thelevels of service, but constantly looking to majority of organizations, currently operateincrease them. in this way.Again very few organizations can claim to have fully achieved this level. Proactive: The tools used are more defined with a customer-focused role. The Service Desk is established and recognized as the main 6 7Gartner Poll Suggests IT Management Processes arentGartner Poll Suggests IT Management Processes arent Maturing, page 3Maturing, page 3Page 9 of 14 10. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it?ITIL V2 versus V3 Process and Service Approachesfigure 5IT Process Maturity Model with Focus As is displayed in figure 5, there is a naturalsuch a service focus perhaps due to the fit on the maturity scale from the V2 processorganizational culture or requirements of IT. world to the V3 service world. The key Many will be content to remain in the difference sliding up the levels is that IT is operational processing area of the maturity initially viewed as a cost center to bescale and maybe over time look at managed down. On moving through theimproving those processes. levels however, IT is regarded as a mature service and/or a virtual/actual profit ITIL V2 or V3 Where are you? center. The ability to accurately measureOrganizations have varying degrees of aspects of service, such as end-user requirements from their IT department and satisfaction and meeting SLA targets, will atare at various levels of ITIL adoption. The this point become the key focus in order tofollowing details sample questions that improve service quality. Axios customers have been asking andwhen V3 may be considered: Companies can find themselves in either camp dependent on their level of maturityIve just started down the V2 road, should I and organizational requirements. Some are still implementing the underlying supportstop and start to adopt V3 instead? and delivery services of V2, whereas some have moved on from that and are striving V2 processes are still valid and can be for service excellence. However, it may notcarried across to V3. V2 sets the be the organizations intent to move tofoundations that need to be in place Page 10 of 14 11. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? before ISO/IEC 20000 accreditation and the Are we ready for ITIL V3? V3 Lifecycle Approach can be considered. Many organizations feel that the processes Many organizations consider themselves to already put in place with V2 are sufficientbe ITIL experts. However, on deeper for current/future requirements and have investigation, they are still developing the no intention of embracing V3 at present, ifbasic support processes in conjunction with at all.elements of Service Level and ContinuityManagement. Processes such as Availability Isnt there so much more to V3?and Financial Management have still notbeen considered or may not be applicable. V3 is not a complete re-write, more of anCertain principles of the V3 Lifecycle effective re-organization of the old books Approach may be practiced already and with the addition of new areas to bring thesince it is a set of Best Practice guidelines, guidelines in line with current industry you are able to pick and choose the trends. If you have achieved, or are elements which are applicable to you. working towards, ISO/IEC 20000 accreditation, the likelihood is that you will When ITIL V3 is worth it already be following many elements of V3,Since the introduction of V2, the so the additional investment to fullyenvironment in general has evolved. When embrace this approach is not so daunting.V2 was launched, issues such asoutsourcing, off-shoring and the capability Should I transition to V3? of the internet were not considerations. V3takes all of the above into account in what ITIL is a set of Best Practice is now a more complex environment and recommendations to adopt and adapt as is provides assistance on how to incorporate required for your specific company. Thus,these factors into the strategy. organizations can still focus on the areas which are of main concern to them. This is Increasingly in many businesses, IT is no what differentiates the guidelines from an longer seen as just a cost center, but an international standard such as ISO/IEC integral component of the business and is 20000 where everything must be moving from back office to front of house. implemented in order to be recognized. IfWhere V2 focused on separate process there is a requirement in your specificsilos, V3 looks at the bigger picture and organization to move to a service-centric, increasing the quality of service provided. lifecycle approach and the relevant basicSince IT plays such a vital role within the processes are sufficiently established, then organization, a better understanding of the V3 will provide you with the guidelines andbusiness is required to support the changing examples of how best to align your ITneeds from the start. V3 provides guidance organization with the business. For otheron current IT practices such as to how to organizations, V3 will provide elementsincrease integration and alignment which can help drive improvements in yourbetween IT and business strategies so that IT ITSM delivery. supports the direction the business isheading. Will the tools be ITIL V3 compliant?With an increased focus on attaining theITSM industry standard ISO/IEC 20000, V3 Technically no tool is ITIL V3, V2 or indeedcan provide the tools to achieve V1 compliant. A product cannot beaccreditation as the mindset required for compliant to a set of Best Practiceboth are closely aligned. recommendations. Good tools are built around what these recommendations askRecent research has shown that Best-in- for and what their customer base desires.Class organizations, which tend to be at Tools built around ITIL principles enablethe high end of the IT maturity scale, organizations to establish their selectedachieve 86% of their SLA goals, which is processes as and when required.Page 11 of 14 12. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? 139% better than the other organizationsplace and are of a sufficient IT maturity questioned. In addition, they experiencelevel, can the V3 service-centric lifecycle 83% efficiency for IT processes, 112% betterapproach be fully embraced. Generally IT than the others 8. The V3 Service Lifecycle organizations that are in IT maturity levels 0- Approach provides the guidelines from 2 are predominately focused on which these statistics can be workedestablishing the basic processes. It is only towards. It also helps the IT organization to for the few who have managed to achieve establish itself as a value-adding entity,levels 3 and 4 that are perhaps ready to rather than a cost center.embrace V3. V3 is an evolution of V2, rather than a replacement and both versions can Currently, one of the key pressures for IThappily co-exist. V3 may not however be organizations is satisfying customersuited to every organization and the expectations and thus achieving betterdecision as to whether to adopt this business service from IT. In order to achieve approach will be dependent on the overall this, many IT organizations identifybusiness strategy, which may not increasing alignment between IT and the necessarily tie-in with the V3 mindset. business as the predominant means toRegardless of this, V3 can act as a increase customer satisfaction. This againbenchmark and provides elements to help ties in with the V3 service mindset.drive ITSM improvements in all organizations. Finally, in order to adopt a V3 approach, there is a requirement for buy-in from all parties concerned, including senior management which has historically been a recognized barrier to process maturity. Thus, there is direct correlation between the maturity of the organizations cultural maturity and that of the associated processes. If all parties have fully embraced the concept of improving service quality, V3 provides the tools from which to achieve this.Conclusion During the 20 years of practice, ITIL has established itself as the worlds most widely recognized and adopted framework for IT Service Management. It has grown from a cottage industry in the 1980s to now having a global influence. Over this time, the many benefits of ITIL have become widely known and continue to grow as the community of practice matures.With each ITIL refresh, new elements have been introduced to better reflect and assist in following ITSM Best Practices. ITIL V2 provided guidance on the basic processes required for ITSM and set the foundations for achieving ISO/IEC 20000 accreditation. Only once the basic V2 processes are in8 ITSM: IT Transforms itself into a Service, page 2, 5, 9Page 12 of 14 13. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? Further ReadingAbout the AuthorThroughout this White Paper, a number of Dale Brown has worked in the IT industry for research papers have been referenced.the last 16 years, starting in the public These are detailed below along withsector in a Help Desk support environment complementary documentation on thisand then onto delivering ITIL projects. Over topic: the last 9 years, Dale has delivered IT V2 versus V3 Webinar. Available on the Service Management projects across theAxios Systems website, November 2007. UK, Europe, North America and the MiddleEast, mainly for large multinational Pocket Guide to V3. Can be requestedorganizations. He is a certified Servicethrough the Axios Systems website,Manager and ISO/IEC 20000 qualifiedNovember 2007.consultant and heads a team of experts ITSM: IT Transforms Itself into a Service . delivering customized ITSM Best PracticeAberdeen Group Research, August 2007. solutions for organizations of any size.Available to download, along with acomplementary onDemand Webinar on theAxios Systems website. (Research surveyed300 organizations. 29% of respondents werefrom large enterprises, 25% from mid-sizedenterprises and 46% from small businesses of$100 million or less. Of this 20% werecategorized Best-in-Class, 50% IndustryAverage and 30% Laggards.) Gartner Poll Suggests IT ManagementProcesses Arent Maturing. GarterResearch, April 2005. UK leads the way in ITIL adoption. AxiosSystems, October 2007. Available on theAxios Systems website. ISO drives rise in ITIL adoption. AxiosSystems, August 2007. Available on the AxiosSystems website. (The research wasconducted by Axios Systems at a leadingITSM event and was based on the responsesof IT Directors/Coos and Help DeskManagers at leading European andInternational organizations across a varietyof industries including energy and utilities,healthcare, manufacturing, financialsservices, high-tech, retail and government.) Report on the ITSM and Help DeskChallenges for 2007 . Axios Systems,December 2006. Available on the AxiosSystems website. ITIL V3: The Future is Here White Paper,by Sharon Taylor, Chief Architect of ITIL V3.Axios Systems, May 2007. A Webinar bySharon Taylor is also available onDemand.Both are available for download from theAxios Systems website.Page 13 of 14 14. ITIL V2 to V3 Is it worth it? About Axios SystemsAxios Systems is a leading provider of Best Practice based consolidated IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions. The companys customer-centric approach combined with its award- winning enterprise solutions enables customers worldwide to align their Service and Support organizations with the overall goals of the business.Benefiting from nearly 20 years of development and investment around Best Practice principles, Axios Systems core solution, assyst, intuitively steers users through all IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes. Axios Systems Best Practice Division works with customers to ensure IT Service Management success. The division provides a wide range of consulting, project management and training services to help maximize investment.The companys commitment to Best Practice is further demonstrated through being first in the world to achieve BS15000 (now ISO/IEC 20000) certification, the international standard for ITSM.Axios Systems is headquartered in the UK, with offices across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. www.axiossystems.comPage 14 of 14